


Family

by Slothquisitor



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-26
Updated: 2015-12-26
Packaged: 2018-05-09 13:39:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5542007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slothquisitor/pseuds/Slothquisitor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dorian and Mara friendship-ness. Dorian is a marshmallow.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Family

Rumors about the new Herald of Andraste and the Tevinter mage that had joined the Inquisition ran rampant. They had become fast friends, and gossip spread like wildfire. 

“They share a tent sometimes when they’re out in the field,” some whispered, scandal dripping off their lips. 

“I heard they do blood magic rituals together,” others said. 

Even those who gave no heed to the idle gossip that Haven bred couldn’t help but notice that the Herald and the Tevinter were awfully close. 

Dorian rather enjoyed the attention. He felt it was rather nice to have people whispering about his involvement with a woman rather than a man for a change and found the whole thing entertaining. He even enjoyed adding to the rumors with subtle (or not so subtle) flirtations with the Herald while other people were around. 

Mara Lavellan rolled her eyes at the fuel he added to the fire, but never said a word. Mara had grown accustomed to whispers behind her back for a variety of things. First it was that she was Dalish, then that she had killed the Divine, now she was revered as the Herald of Andraste. A title she would rather avoid. She’d been rumored into a relationship with almost available person in Haven since becoming Herald so the fact that there were rumors circulating about her and Dorian was really less surprising than that almost no one seemed to know he had a preference for men. 

Shortly after arriving to Skyhold, Dorian grabbed Mara as she exited the war room, “I have something to show you!”

Mara had very little time to explore Skyhold since arriving, it didn’t help she was still slowly regaining mobility after being buried by an avalanche. 

“Where are we going?” Mara asked. 

“You’ll see,” Dorian said mischievously, offering his arm to help her climb the steps. Once they reached the top of the steps, Dorian pushed the door open in front of them. It revealed a circular, dusty room. Everything at Skyhold was dusty, like it hadn’t been touched in ages. It probably hadn’t. 

With a wave of his hand, Dorian lit the dusty candelabra that sat on a table in front of them. With the little light from that and what managed to sneak in through the grime crusted windows Mara saw she was in a library. It was filled floor to ceiling with books.   
A smile slowly spread across her lips, “We have a library. A real one.” Referring to the closet of a place her and Dorian had carved out of the basement in Haven. 

But this! This was a true library even through the dust and time that had abandoned Skyhold she could still smell the books. 

“I thought you might like it. What do you think? Should we restore it to its former glory?” Dorian asked. Ever since Haven Mara had been distant, quiet and the smile that came her to face made him feel like maybe he was helping. He inwardly chastised himself; he was sounding like Cole. 

“Yes!” Mara ducked under his arm to give him a side hug. Dorian smiled now too, he couldn’t help himself. 

At first, Dorian had been unsure about this Dalish elven mage, the Herald of Andraste, but she was kind and compassionate and terribly witty. He found himself able to be himself around her. She was his best friend. Hell, if he was being honest with himself she was really his only friend here. Dorian wasn’t sure if the occasional chess game with Cullen qualified them as friends. 

They got started cleaning the library right away. They fell into easy conversation and companionable silence. That was the nice thing about their friendship, they didn’t feel the need to fill every silence up until it was brimming, but something had been bothering Dorian for some time. 

“Mara,” Dorian began. Something has been on his mind since Haven.

“Hmmm…” Mara replied, not looking up from the bookshelf she was attempting to rescue from a mass of cobwebs. 

“The rumors, we never really talked about them. I wanted to apologize for any trouble they cause you,” Dorian furrowed his brow, unsure, he doesn’t do this whole friendship thing very often. 

Mara looked up from her work and laughed, “Oh Dorian I don’t really pay them any mind. If you’re concerned you’re hurting my...um...prospects I wouldn’t worry about that. Josephine hands me a stack of marriage proposals almost weekly. I might have to actually respond to them now I’m Inquisitor.”

“At Haven you rather stupidly stayed behind. Tricked me and Cassandra and Sera, I know you’d rather not get a lecture from me, but we almost lost you and I just want to say, so that you actually hear it from me...I think of you as a friend -”

Mara smiled, “Dorian, I -”

“Please don’t interrupt. I detest confessions and if anyone overhears me getting sentimental I’ll have to rain fire down upon them. I just want to say I’ll stand beside you Mara - against Corypheus, my countrymen, or spurious rumor - so long as you’ll have me.”

Mara paused absorbing the rare moment of sentimentality from Dorian. They were always honest with each other, but hardly ever talked about feelings. 

“When I was little I would always look around my clan at the other children who had siblings and I was incredibly jealous,” Mara seemingly changed the subject, “I always wanted a sibling. I sort of think of you as the older brother I never had.”

Dorian turned his back to Mara while an emotional torrent erupted inside him. Family? She thought of him as family? His own family didn’t want him in their family, would have been pleased to learn that he was dead he was such a disappointment to them. He felt his eyes burning. Was he crying? He hadn’t cried in years.

“Dorian…?” Mara ventured, hoping she hadn’t said the wrong thing. 

“Maker’s breath woman. You’ve turned me soft as a marshmallow,” Dorian turned around laughing at his body’s betrayal of his emotions while he wiped his now wet eyes. 

“Oh and here I thought the only way I could fluster anyone was to ask about celibacy vows,” Mara joked. Secretly, she is touched, but changes the subject anyways. 

“Yes, and how is our dear commander?” Dorian followed her lead. The moment was tucked away, but reexamined every now and again when feelings of worthlessness threatened to envelope them both.


End file.
